Man killed while falling tree in Maple Ridge

Firefighters and paramedics had to climb down steep terrain to reach the man who killed while falling a tree near B.C. Hydro power lines.

A man was killed while falling a tree in east Maple Ridge just before noon Tuesday.

The 40-year-old man was working for Leader Silviculture along a B.C. Hydro right-of-way, clearing trees near high-voltage power lines off 256th Street, past 130 Avenue by a gravel pit not far from the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre.

“The worker was falling a tree and it struck the worker,” said Megan Johnson, with Work Safe B.C.

Work Safe B.C. is investigating the fatality and was on scene soon after the accident.

The Maple Ridge Fire Department and emergency personnel struggled to reach the man, who was working off a steep incline, near a stream.

Police said Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue was called in to assist due to the “difficult terrain.”

Ridge Meadows RCMP will be assisting the coroner’s office with its investigation.